SpaceX's first share lockup since going public has expired, freeing up to 911.5 million insider-held shares under a staggered schedule that allows as much as 20% of that stock to be sold immediately.
The unlock, which took effect Thursday, more than doubles the pool of SpaceX shares technically available to trade on the public market, according to Forbes. Despite the expanded float, shares of SPCX rose more than 6% on the day, suggesting investors were not spooked by the prospect of a wave of insider selling.
The lockup expiration highlights just how much wealth SpaceX's rise has generated among its workforce. More than 4,400 current and former employees are estimated to have become millionaires through their SpaceX stock holdings, while roughly 400 people hold stakes worth more than $100 million each, according to Fortune. Those figures illustrate how broadly the company's rising valuation has been shared among rank-and-file staff, not just its founders and earliest backers, as SpaceX has grown into one of the most valuable private companies in the world before its public listing.
A Staggered Release
Rather than flooding the market all at once, the unlock schedule releases insider shares in tranches, with only a fraction, up to 20%, eligible for sale in this initial window. The structure is designed to limit the kind of abrupt share-price swings that can follow lockup expirations at newly public companies, when early investors and employees rush to cash in paper gains.
The muted market reaction, a share-price gain rather than the sell-off some might have expected, points to sustained investor demand for SpaceX stock even as the available supply grows. It also reflects continued optimism about the company's trajectory, from its Starship program to its Starlink satellite internet business, both of which have underpinned its valuation since its public listing.
With hundreds of employees and former staff now sitting on eight- and nine-figure stakes, the lockup expiration marks a significant liquidity event for SpaceX's workforce, some of whom will be able to sell shares for the first time since the company went public. The remaining tranches of insider shares are due to unlock on a staggered basis in the months ahead, gradually widening the pool of stock available to trade.
